Waste material produced in the healthcare environment may carry a risk of infection to people who are not directly involved in providing healthcare but who are involved in the transport or disposal of that waste. All waste disposal is subject to regulation and hazardous waste is subject to further controls, depending on the nature of the hazard (DH [25]). To ensure that everyone involved in waste management is aware of, and protected from, any hazard presented by the waste with which they are dealing, and that the waste is disposed of appropriately, a colour‐coding system is used. The colours in general use are shown in Table 4.8.

There are several different types of waste containers. They are usually plastic bags or rigid plastic containers of the appropriate colour (Table 4.9). Boxes for disposal of sharps are usually differentiated from rigid boxes for other waste.

The producer of hazardous waste is legally responsible for that waste, and remains responsible for it until its final disposal by incineration, alternative treatment or landfill (DH [25]). In order to track waste to its point of origin, for example if it is necessary to identify where waste has been disposed of into the wrong waste stream, healthcare organizations should have a system of identifying waste according to the ward or department where it is produced. This may be through the use of labelling or dedicated waste carts for particular areas. When assembling sharps bins, always complete the label on the outside of the bin, including the date and the initials of the assembler. When sharps bins are closed and disposed of, they should be dated and initialled at each stage (DH [25]).